Welding rod



Carbon-from 0.1 to 2%, preferably Siliconfrom 0.1 to 2%, preferably 0.6 to 0.9%

Patented Ma 14, 1946 WELDING ROD Raymond L. Morrison, Buffalo, N. Y., assignor to Morrison Railway Supply Corporation, Buffalo, N. Y., a corporation of New York No Drawing. Application June 2, 1944,

Serial No. 538,548

4 Claims.

The present invention relates in general to steel alloys and in particular to a welding rod for welding ferrous alloys of special composition, especially manganese steel.'. The term "manganese steel" is intendedto include any steelalloy containing from 11 to 14% manganese with the customary amounts of carbon, silicon, phosphorus and other alloying ingredients.

It has been found in the welding of ferrous alloys of special composition such as manganese steel that great difficulty has been encountered in the production of welds which were free from cracks and which were coherent and which at the same time adhered tenaciously to the work piece.

Therefore, the general object of the present invention is to produce a weld upon manganese steel which possesses the properties of hardness, toughness, and resistance to wear which was possessed by the original steel.

Another object of the invention is t produce welds upon manganese steel which are free from checks and cracks and which are coherent and adhere tenaciously to the manganese steel, and which are therefore resistant to shock.

A further object of the .present invention is to provide a weldingrod which will give greater latitude in the conditions under which arc weldin may be conducted.

It is a specific object of the invention, to provide a welding rod for welding manganese steel in a more economical and efficient manner than can be accomplished at the present time. Other objects of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part apepar hereinafter.

According to the present invention, manganese steel is welded by use of a steel welding rod having an austenitic structure and containin boron and copper by striking an are between the manganese steel and the welding rod to deposit molten metal from the rod on the steel, and peening the deposited metal before it has cooled to a temperature below 750 F. to prevent the formation of checks and cracks. The welding rod of the invention comprises Manganese-from 5 to 20%, preferably 11 to 14% Boron-from .001 -to 0.1%, preferably .02 to .09%

Copper and/or nickelfrom 1 to 5%, preferably 3 to 5% Balance: Essentially iron.

In particular, a rod containing chromium in addition to the other ingredients named is particularly emcacious for forming tough, hard and resistantwelds' on manganese steel. As indicated, above, the welding rod contains copper or nickel from 1% to 5% or both of these elements jointly where the weight of the tw together lies between 1% and 5%. That is, the copper and nickel are interchangeable.

By way of illustration but not by way of limit-- ing the invention, the following will be given as examples ofwelding rods suitable for use in the process of the invention (in pa'rts per 100) Examples I II III IV V Nlnnganc 11.0 v12.0 l3.5 14.0 [4.0 Boron.-. 0.02 0. 0.! 0. (l5 0. 08 0. 09 Copper: 1.5 2. 5 3. 2i 3. 5 5. Silicon. -0. 0 0. 0 0. 85 0. 9 0. 9 (lm'hon 0. 9 O. 9 0. 9 0. J 0. NickcL... 0.1 0.15 0. 2 0. Chromium l6. Ferrous metal 1 Balance.

It isto be understood that a small amount of other alloying elements may be present in the welding rod, such,for example, as phosphorus,

- sulphur, tungsten, vanadium, aluminum, molyb- Some of the iron may be substituted by chromium but preferably not more than 3% of chromlum.

denum and the like, without changing essentially the function of the rod in the present process.

It has been found that the copper present in r the welding rod plays an important part in the function of the rod in the present process. order to facilitate the welding and especially the peening, it is necessary that the weld metal possess a certain degree of ductility. Manganese steel welding rods containing, for example, nickel from 3%'to 5%, but no copper give efflcient welds but the weld metal has so little ductility that the welding process is rendered difficult. For instance, with such manganese-nickel alloy rods great care must be exercised to peen the deposited metal promptly so that the length of bead which can be welded is limited. It has now been discovered that the presence of copper in the welding rods causesthe metal to flow at a lower temperature, imparts to the deposited metal a higher ductility'and thus permits greater latitude in the welding procedure and in the time and conditions of peening the deposited metal. Moreover, the copper-containing weld metal shows a finer grain structure and shows a higher resistance to continued alternating stresses. The use of the copper enables one to eliminate-or greatly reduce the amount of nickel used wlthoutreducing the amount of carbon and manganese. The decrease in the amount of nickel greatly reduces the cost of the welding rod. On the other hand, it has been found that the presence of the nickel even as little as 0.2% functions to increase the solubility of the copper in the steel and makes it possible to expand the limits of both carbon and manganese in both directions while imparting a great hardness and toughnessto the weld metal. The nickel also enables the weld to be toughened in air, reduces the brittleness and retards crystallization. The silicon protects the manganese from oxidizing in the air during the welding operation. The carbon contributes to the toughness and peen hardness and renders the weld capable of being machined, as by grinding.

It has been found that the boron imparts several unforeseen and important properties to the alloy: it increases the compatability of copper; it hardens the alloy; and it makes the rod more wear-resistant. These new results are obtained despite the fact that the boron comprises less than 0.1% of the weight of the rod. Amounts above 0.1% do not have any beneficial effects and are unnecessary.

The present method of welding may be used for welding manganese steel to itself or for building up-worn portions of manganese steels which have been subjected to particularly hard wear and attrition and which have lost their original shape and size, or which are cracked and shattered, and

which require additions of metal thereto so thatv the original contour and continuous surface of the piece may be restored. The invention is particularly adapted for rebuilding railway frogs and crossings which ar made of manganese steel free of oil or rust. On worn manganese steel, the worn metal is removed by grinding or chipping to expose the virgin metal and the surface brushed with a wire brush.

The work piece or the steel to be welded is connected to a source of electric current so that the work piece is negative and a second connecwhich the rod metal is to be deposited should to such peeningoperation. In the preferred embodiment, the peening is begun at the colder end of the deposited bead of metal, and proceeds toward the hotter end until the entire bead is peened. Further additions of the welding rod are made to the work piece and these deposited portions are inturn subjected to the peening operation until sufllcient metal has been added to the piece to make it conform to the original size and shape. The finished weld may be left as peened or in the case of rebuilt rails, frogs and crossings, the-welded surface may be machined oil to the desired size and contour by grindin polishing and the like.

While the welding rod of the invention is particularly adapted for rebuilding worn rails, frogs and crossings of manganese steel, it is also adapted for welding manganese to itself and for rebuilding or repairing various articles formed in whole or in part of manganese steel, such for example as worn dipper teeth, bucket lips, tool points, press plates, well-drilling bits, conveyor parts, crushing rolls, grinding devices and the like. The welding rod may be used also for building up carbon steel pieces, such, for example, as carbon steel railway frogs and switchpoints, to

give a wearing surface of manganese steel.

Among the advantages of the present invention in the art of welding manganese steel is that the presence of the copper in the welding rod enables the welding to be carried out at lower temperatures than with the present nickel-containing manganese steel rods, thus reducing the chances that the manganese steel work piece will be accidentally overheated during welding. Further, since the copper-containing steel rod metal is more ductile than the nickel rod heretofore used, the metal may be peened at slightly lower temperatures than heretofore used, thus facilitating the welding operation and decreasing the speed with which the welding must be accomplished. The use of the present process is more economical, faster but requires less skill than processes of welding manganese steel with welding rods heretofore known.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A welding rod for welding manganese steel comprising manganese from 5% to 20%, copper from 1% to 5%, boron from 0.001% to 0.1%, carbon from 0.1% to 2%, silicon from 0.1% to 2% and the balance essentially iron.

tion is fixed on the welding rod having an austenmetal is not sufiiciently malleable to give a satisfactory weldn A eening or impact operation immediately after deposition of metal equivalent to about one-half the length of the usual welding rod produces a more completely adherent mass. without the formation of checks and cracks than when the deposited metal has not been subjected 2. A welding rod for welding manganese steel comprising manganese from 5% to 20%, copper and nickel together in a total amount from 1% to 5%, boron from 0.001% to 0.1%, carbon from 0.1% to 2%, silicon from 0.1% to 2% and the balance essentially iron.

3. A welding rod for welding manganese steel comprising manganese from 11% to 14%, copper and nickel together in a total amount from 3% to 5%, boron from .02% to .09%, carbon from 0.9% to 2%, silicon from 0.6% to 0.9% and the balance essentially iron.

4. A welding rod for welding manganese steel comprisingmanganese from 5% to 20%, copper from 0.9% to 4.8%, nickel from 0.1% to 0.2%, boron from 0.001% to 0.1%, carbon from 0.1% to 2%, silicon from 0.1% to 2% and the balance essentially iron.

RAYMOND L. MORRISON. 

